If it ain't one thing, it's another.

The day started off normal enough. Kids eating breakfast. Joel getting ready for work. Me trying to clear the brain fog so I could get going.

All three kids woke up with drippy noses. Ugh. We had a play date scheduled at a new McDonald's for 11 am. I evaluated the drips and decided the time with friends would be worth exposing all the other kids to whatever cold bugs my gang is carrying.

Oh, yes. I am one of THOSE mom's. Lest you judge me too quickly, it's been raining for 3 days. THREE DAYS! That means my boys are climbing the walls around here and so am I. Besides, if I stay home every time one of my 3 has the sniffles I will never go anywhere from October to May. And that just ain't happening people! My advice to you? Carry lots of GermX with you.

Anyway. Back to the morning.

Joel tried to remote start his truck, which I lovingly refer to as "The Behemoth." It's a 1996 GMC Sierra EXTEND CAB with a full size bed. It's big. And NOT fun for me to drive. Joel loves using his remote start on cool mornings so the truck is warm when he gets in. Well, the remote start wouldn't work.

He walked outside and started the truck. It started OK but the clock needed to be reset. Which meant the battery or alternator is fritzing again. He didn't want to risk it NOT starting after work so we decided I (and the 3 kids) would take him to work today.

That's not TOO bad. His office is only a 15-20 minute drive during rush hour time. So we dropped him off and flew home to finish breakfast and get ready for our play date.

The kids had tons of fun playing with their friends in the new indoor playground. I was very impressed (except for the 2 video bicycle games they have the little guys aren't allowed on. Who thought that was a good idea?! And the McDonald's worker who appears to be in charge of supervising the play area. I really hate it when someone like that gets on to my kids for just being kids!). Three hours later we drove home for some semblance of a nap.

At 4:30 Joel called to say his boss was letting them go home early. Yippee!! I loaded up the kids and we picked up Daddy. On the way home I decided to run by Walmart and pick up some cold medicine so my children could sleep tonight. No big deal. The store isn't even out of the way. I ran into the store leaving Joel and the kids in the van. When I came out, they were gone. I correctly assumed Will needed to go to the potty and walked back into the store.

After finding my gang we trooped back to the van. Only to discover that the keys were locked in the van. Oh, yes. They were. I left the keys in the ignition so Joel could listen to music or adjust the temperature. He did not realize this so had neglected to take the keys with him into the store.

There we stood in the parking lot. No diaper bag. No jackets. No stroller. And boys hopping all over the place. Thirty minutes after calling taxicabs and friends we were still stuck at Walmart. Can you believe Joel called half a dozen cabs and NONE would come pick us up! We briefly discussed calling AAA but past experience with them left me waiting for at least an hour.

So, Joel hoofed it home. That's 3.23 miles (according to Mapquest). Across several major intersections. Down a busy street. He's never been so glad we live close to Walmart. We were both glad the rain stopped last night and most of the mud was gone. AND that tonight was only cool instead of cold.

After getting home he let himself in the house (he has his desk key and house key on the same key chain!) he grabbed the truck keys and called me on the cell phone. While he enjoyed the brisk walk home, it took an hour, the kids and I ate supper at Subway in Walmart.

Then we walked next door to a Mall. The Mall is mostly dead. There are only about a dozen stores still open. It's a fantastic place to take small children in the winter so they can run and holler and no one will give you dirty looks.

After three tries Joel managed to get the truck started. He quickly drove to the Mall, gave me keys for the van and drove back home again. We all finally made it home after 7:30! UGH!

Needless say, my poor sweet husband is tired. And now he has to figure out what to do about the truck. The children? They have been medicated and hopefully will sleep like babies until 8 am. Hopefully we'll ALL sleep like babies! After a day like today we deserve it.